


The Rising of Rey

by klanunes



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/F, Post "Star Wars - The Force Awakens"
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 19:21:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5677720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klanunes/pseuds/klanunes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a Star Wars Fanfiction. This story picks up a few months after where we're left off from Star Wars VII - The Force Awakens. Rey is undergoing Luke Skywalker's training in a classified location, and they are about to receive a ground-shaking visit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1 - Case #2364

Chapter #1 - Case #2364

* * *

 

Not so long ago in a galaxy far, far away, the wind blew from the South to North, causing some leaves to swirl and flying creatures to flock graciously whilst swerving into the second sunset. There was not a more silent planet at this corner of the universe, be it due to the proximity of some wormholes or the secrecy of who made a living at the islands that comprised Ojnask, the green planet unknown by The First Order, and barely touched by The Resistance.

Two silhouettes can be spotted and distinguishing them isn't, at all, a difficult job. One, a woman, has got legs and the lower abdomen on the ground at the edge of a lake, while holding the torso over the water; the second, a more robust and male figure, stands close and observes the one who is undoubtedly applying extreme effort to maintain the upper body from maculating the water surface.

"Boop boop - beep bip." The silence is broken by the chiming sounds of a flying droid that hovered next the second person at the location - as a parrot stand at the shoulder of a pirate. It reported that the fatigue levels of subject number one were increasing, and both of the humans there present could comprehend it.

"Endure so you can expand your limits. Try to push them and you will probably fail. Again." The message seemed as dubious as it sounded, especially when the man let it out in an authoritarian way - that was definitely a master-student situation. They were again at that terrible practice, for the third time that day, 11th within the last 2 days.

"Expand, don't push!" A female voice echoed on the horizontal person's mind, seemingly fearful and focused. Maybe the message - which resembled a riddle - was that by trying to take a step further, one would probably lose it. But maybe, by just letting things be, more could be accomplished; merely by not striving for it, or focusing on something else, perhaps?

"The only thing preventing it from happening is you." The man spoke again, checking on a monitor of the droid before turning his eyes to the person standing the torso above water. From that perspective, all he could see was the dark hair tied up on buns and the gray, worn out robes.

The woman, on the other hand, could only see her reflex on the still water surface, sometimes disturbed by the drops of sweat falling from her face and neck as she tried to keep her back and abdomen still. It was harder than the fighting and telepathic routines - that were also challenging, but not so exhausting - in a way she couldn't manage to find her cool and work with the energy that is always surrounding all the living things. She couldn't get that intimate with the Force when being able to handle it would, actually, save her life.

She breathed in heavily, clenching her teeth and aspiring for serenity, for the needed tranquility to use the power emanating from the wind moving, or the stationary water in a helpful way. Thinking about the possibility of converting that force to herself made her think less of how hard that setting was to her fit legs and knees until her thoughts made her think of this as well and deviate from her target. Next thing she knew was water coming inside her head through her nose, and the back of her clothes being pulled so she wouldn't drown, again.

The droid had lifted her a bit, enough to leave her laying on her back while contemplating the dark purple sky, the orange strokes from the dusk and the greenish shadow of a full moon. The woman was breathing in a very intense way despite trying to keep it as silent as possible, for failing again and not being into dramas. Nobody would have to say anything, as there was nothing left to be said.

 

\--

Being in Ojnask had its ups and downs. Ever since she had gotten there, all Rey knew was training and being prepared to face unsaid things. At first, it had been thrilling but now, months later, it seemed dull. She had, after all, been engaged in much activity prior to meeting the last Jedi Master. She went from being a hopeful scavenger to a talented pilot prone to fighting and using the Force. Her skills didn't go unnoticed by anyone who crossed her way, from a former stormtrooper to the grandson of Lord Vader. Undergoing resistance training had been turning into a nightmare day after day, week after week. Did she really need to go through all of that, anyways?

Unhappy about her poor results on the latest endurance challenge, Rey found it better to eat alone, away from Luke Skywalker and D-1Z. In that way, she could appreciate the silence of the Universe while having important conversations in her mind. Thus, she rested against a wall and took a deep breath whereas trying to silence her self-critic thinking when she heard something unusual in the air. It sounded like the wind was changing, being changed. And that couldn't be good.

"... Wh..?" Her voice wouldn't be heard as she reached outside of her hut to join her master, who had a hand over his eyes to block some rays of blue lights coming from a spaceship. Rey did the same, holding her lightsaber at one hand and looking at the droid, as it should identify what that meant.

"I'm sure that if we were to be killed, kid, this planet would just have been exploded!" Luke said in a calm manner as if he truly believed that they would be better dead than held prisoner by space pirates or other kinds of threat. Rey found that lack of options disturbing, but kept it to herself just in time for D-1Z to break the good news: it seemed to be a friendly, unharmful visit.

The ship was smaller than the Millennium Falcon that had brought her there, which, now that the lights were dimmed, made sense. There were no cannons or guns attached to that, in a way it could only be used for transportation. Rey took her lightsaber away as a door slid to a side and three human-like creatures could be spotted and made their way towards the three of them.

"Greetings from the Resistance! I'm Captain Korden and these are the Lieutenants Tyla Keenward and Kurt Halcyon. They are here on a mission to access the improvement of case #2364." The man in the middle started talking. They were all dressed in the same dark-green uniform but had visibly different characteristics. The spokesperson seemed to be at a far more advanced age than his fellow companions, not to mention his darker skin and grey facial hair. The Jedi student analysed their impeccable posture so attentively that she didn't even notice that they were probably talking about her, in codes.

"Access improvement?" Luke spoke in disbelief, slightly outraged by what that vocabulary choice implied. "Since when does the Resistance or anyone, as a matter of a fact, thinks it's possible to interfere in..."

"General Organa has anticipated your questioning, Master Skywalker. We are here under her command, due to case #1308." His words seemed robotic and lacking emotion - maybe that's how military people should sound, after all? Luke flinched, as if something had hit him, and Rey caught that from the corner of her eyes. She looked from the newcomers to see her master digesting the news. _"Case 1308? If she were 2364... could that have been a rebellion? Could that have been Kylo Ren's uprising?"_ These thoughts were popping up and crossing her mind, which was kind of disturbing, so she found it better to address the visitors.

"What's your job here, exactly?" Despite of having fought Kylo Ren, been offered a job from Han Solo and sent to train under Luke's tutoring by General Organa, Rey sounded  childish, like the girl who was left in Jakku nearly 20 years ago. That's when the person on the left, a shaved-side blonde woman, broke the silence.

"We are here to check on your progress, case #2364. We shall report back to duty when done." She had a hoarse, kind of harsh voice or way of imposing it despite seeming less robotic, thus more relaxed, than Captain Korden. They stared at each other while speaking and listening to what the other had to say, her brown eyes on the woman's blue's.

"I'm here for upgrading and analyzing D-1Z data, leaving tomorrow with Captain Korden." The male on the right had spoken as well, leading Rey to look away from the woman to the younger man, probably about Poe's age. They all stood there in silence until Luke broke the tension by telling them they were welcome to rest wherever they saw fit. There wasn't much option, nonetheless, apart from a hut, the spaceship they came in or the mountains nearby. Rey looked at the trio, then to Luke and the droid, and, after adjusting her lightsaber on her robes, made her way towards her hut.


	2. Know your grounds.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On this second chapter, we get to know a little bit about what has happened within the last few months of the Jedi training with Luke Skywalker. We are also provided with unexpected facts as we learn more about Rey, as a person, as she gets to be interviewed by Lieutenant Tyra Keenward.

Chapter 2 - Know your grounds

* * *

 

"7... 8... 9... Exhale and count down from 10 to 9... 8... 7..." The hoarse yet delicate voice filled Rey's head while she tried to follow the directions and deflect thoughts. _Tried._ She wasn't making much progress despite being aware of that. Keeping her eyes open didn't help because her ever-so-attentive-and-curious persona led her to watch her interlocutor closely, which, _per se_ , was very distracting. The arrival of three more people changed her training routine a bit.

It had been a couple of days that Korden, Halcyon and Keenward had landed on that island and stated the reason of their being there. Korden had fled the following morning after privately talking to Luke. The other guy started his works on the D-1Z droid and Keenward approached a suspicious Rey to let her aware of the details that she should know - which surely meant there were things that would be kept from her. The first two days were a horror show of a Tyra watching the training sessions - Rey's struggles, really. Lightsaber routines, body duels, telepathic training and physical challenges - as well as going after food and repairing shelter.

The third day, however, had a different twist. Kurt Halcyon had to instruct Luke Skywalker on some policies and new droid functions whereas Keenward had to work with Rey. And that's why she's inhaling, counting and exhaling. Focusing seems to be a problem that needs repairing, and the student isn't doing well thus far.

 

"Have you been able to focus at all, Rey?” her voice sounded sharp, slightly impatient, whilst the interviewee tried her best to not show her impatience with all those breathing exercises. Frankly, what good was that for, anyways? It was tempting, for Rey, not to use the powers she had been experimenting with since she was held captive by The First Order and talked her way out of the cell. She had considered telling her interviewer what to do in order to move forward on that supposed exercise that, up to that point, seemed little clever and very time-consuming. “I’ve made you a question, soldier!” The other woman’s voice took an authoritarian depth, and if there was something Rey couldn’t cope with was harshness, not after everything she has gone through.

“It’s impossible to focus when you won’t shut up!” She burst out, visibly flipping out. “What’s the point in this anyways? You’ve seen my training and confided in master Luke instead of giving me any feedback… And for about two hours all we’ve done is breathing exercises?! Don’t I know how to breathe?!”

The blonde woman, who was equally sitting on the floor, a few steps away from the student, raised an eyebrow while watching that show. Rey losing her temper was a first, although Tyra didn’t seem any impressed. Her facial expression was blank, her complexion didn’t move a bit, not even the so-responsive temporal muscles which will always show if someone is clenching teeth, for instance. Those light, blue eyes stared at Rey’s first in a didactic way, as if analysing her soul and thoughts. Then, secondly, they assumed a judgmental look as some jaw muscles tightened. Yes, Rey is really observing. And she’s not the only one.

“What about now?” Tyra kept her cool despite seeming to be biting the inner part of her lips, causing Rey to gulp and take a deep breath. Was that a test? Was she just played to outburst and be observed?

“... I don’t know if I focused… But I know that, for a moment, my thoughts were all gone.” She looked away, around the cave they were at, and then met the interviewer’s gaze again, finding her slightly smiling to Rey’s shock - and surprise.

“I’ve seen Luke work on your stress levels, especially for telepathic purposes concerning interrogation and what you’ve experienced with Kylo Ren.” The woman stood up from the ground, cleaning the back of her sweatpants. “Now I’ve seen you grow impatient and then focus. What we need to do is make it a conscious move, just as when you use the Force.” Rey listened attentively even though that didn’t make sense.

“I fail to see what’s the use of that. If I can make someone do something willingly, why working on focus instead of persuasion?” And the student raised an eyebrow, automatically knowing the answer - focus would help with everything else, all the things, that she wouldn’t be able to mind trick.

“And if you focus, people won’t be able to pry into your thoughts, soldier!” The blonde hosted a smile at the corner of her lips, her hands at her waist, at the same time that Rey connected the dots and blushed. _“Pry into my thoughts? Oh no!”_ She thought.

 

Lieutenant Halcyon went back to the Ileenium system after being is Ojnask for 4 days, just when interaction had started to become easy and some camaraderie had been built. D-1Z had grown - it was actually installed - some sense of humour, which made some days more palatable. Training with Luke had turned slightly awkward whilst enduring with Tyra was becoming less dull. It has crossed Rey’s mind that maybe she was not the only one being observed, and it made sense since Skywalker was, after all, the mentor of rebellious Ben Solo. The way Keenward approached some subjects with Rey and later on pinpointed with Luke did generally ring a bell, causing the Jedi student to usually leave; she didn’t see any gain at watching Luke and Tyra engaging in mental slipping games. 

On this particular evening, there were three moons at the horizon, under the purple sky. The biggest one had a beautiful green and grayish color while the other two small ones depicted a faded, dark yellow. Dinner had been fish, as it usually was, and there was nothing so very remarkable in that or anything frankly. She just felt like being outside and enjoy the view and the cold, for that being so similar to the nights in Jakku - the place she has always known as home, but that now seemed of so little relevance.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” A voice broke the sound of leaves being bent by wind gusts. She didn’t need to turn around to check on who was the speaker since the options were really narrow. Rey was sorting the words out when she felt something heavy upon her shoulders, touching it to find a heavy blanket - which, of course, broke her train of thought.

“This night is too beautiful to freely ignore.” She smiled and embraced her legs, gripping some of the cloth endings in order to maintain her covering in place. That’s when she felt a gentle push at her right, finding Tyra sitting there.

“Really? We have it all the time in D’Qar, as it’s in the outer rim, you know?” Keenward smiled as well, resting her hands at her bare knees as she crossed her legs - contrary to a much covered Rey, the blue-eyed woman wore shorts and a v-neck t-shirt.

“It’s very different from Jakku, which is basically a desert graveyard. Scorching hot and freezing cold, you know?”

“Oh, I’ve heard! Finn would use it as a standard for whenever things got too heated up at the training grounds.” Tyra’s spontaneous - and human - way of speaking seemed as pleasant as listening to that familiar name.

“So you’ve met him? He’s a great man with a beautiful soul… And smile!” Rey smiled herself upon remembering the friend with whom she had been through a lot - basically from a scavenger to a Jedi. Tyra shook her shoulders, running a hand over the shaved side of her head until meeting her golden locks of hair.

“Yeah, he had been training under Dameron’s watch… They have something going on, those two.” Keenward was taken by surprise when Rey touched her thigh, the other hand covering her own mouth, vividly in shock. “What? You didn’t know? Pff! Don’t tell me you had feeling for any of those two, cutie…” Rey stood still, clearly letting that information sink in. The blanket fell from her shoulders to the rock they were sitting at, and Tyra had spun a little to look at her interlocutor with more ease, in a more comfortable way.

“No, of course not. I mean, I didn’t think they would go for it, you know? Poe is so much of a player… And Finn has so many things to work on, you know, because of the stormtrooper conditioning…” She was still shocked, and interestingly enough she reached out a hand to touch Tyra’s shoulder, the right one still on the lieutenant’s left thigh.

“Technically they didn’t go for anything, yet. But rumour has it!” The military woman smirked, letting her left-hand move upwards to the height of Rey’s face and gently brush her nose with one of her fingertips. That proximity was as new as speaking of personal matters, and it caused some unfamiliar reaction to the student’s stomach. “C’mon, girl, I brought you a blanket, not a rug!” The blonde’s left hand hovered over the blanket, pulling it up to meet the brunette’s shoulders again. Rey smiled, that was another first: being taken care of. It was somehow reassuring to know that some people would bother to think if she were okay, as Finn did so many times, or if she were hungry (as D-1Z often does) and now if she is cold.

The Jedi apprentice remained still while Tyra straightened the blanket over her shoulders, to which she had to kneel in front of Rey and use both her hands.  That provided her with a new angle, a great one, of the lieutenant’s cleavage and bouncing breasts as she used her arms to arrange the cloth into place. Rey’s neck and face felt oddly hot but not in an uncomfortable way. There was something else rising up from her loins to her head.

“You smell so good!” There was something citrus and flowery in the air, something pretty inebriating that clouded her judgement and thoughts. It took her a fair amount of time to realize that Tyra had stopped whatever she had been doing, and that’s when Rey realized she might have had perhaps thought out loud.


End file.
